Ex-top cop in Maryland town pleads guilty to gun violations

Published
3:53 pm EST, Tuesday, February 12, 2019

TANEYTOWN, Md. (AP) — A former Maryland police chief has pleaded guilty to the illegal transfer and possession of two machine guns.

William Tyler is the ex-chief of the Taneytown Police Department. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland filed charges against him earlier this year, accusing him of transferring two machine guns to himself and a subordinate officer. The weapons, registered to the Taneytown force, were for their personal use.

Tyler, who lives in Pennsylvania, didn't report the 2017 transfer. Transporting certain weapons between states without a license violates U.S. law.

Tyler and the unidentified officer were placed on leave two days after federal agents searched Taneytown's police department and Tyler's home in Fairfield, Pennsylvania.

The former chief pleaded guilty Tuesday. He faces up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing is set for June.